[IDC reports by 2011 the hard disk drisve (HDD) industry will more than quadruple capacity shipped in 2006 to meet growing digital demand.]

Framingham, MA -- By 2011, the hard disk drive (HDD) industry will more than quadruple the total HDD capacity shipped in 2006 to meet the growing storage requirements of an expanding digital universe, according to IDC. Worldwide HDD unit shipments will increase to 675 million units in 2011, while revenue will rise to approximately $37 billion.

"The expanding digital universe creates a tremendous opportunity for HDD storage used in PCs, enterprise systems, and personal storage devices," said John Rydning, research manager for IDC's hard disk drives program. "Despite challenges from competing storage technologies, volatile consumer electronic markets, and enigmatic changes ahead for the computing environment, the fundamental need for additional storage capacity worldwide will continue to generate solid HDD demand."

Looking ahead to this growth, the HDD industry needs to remain vigilant to several emerging trends and realities including:

* Aggressive NAND-flash price reductions that will severely curtail the market opportunity for HDDs in handheld devices, and that will make possible increased penetration of solid state disk drives (SSDs) into traditional HDD markets.

* Growing adoption by enterprise storage customers of both small form factor HDDs to optimize performance and power, and high capacity desktop-class HDDs to optimize capacity and power.

* The risk of installing excess HDD manufacturing capacity that will only serve to exacerbate HDD price erosion, and inhibit industry revenue growth.

IDC's study, Worldwide Hard Disk Drive 2007-2011 Forecast and Analysis: Creating Space for an Expanding Digital Universe, (IDC #206701) examines the market opportunity for HDDs in the following applications: portable and desktop PCs, enterprise storage systems, personal storage devices, and various consumer electronic applications. The HDD market opportunity is described in terms of units, exit factory revenue, and terabytes shipped. Additionally, various metrics, significant trends, and related vendors are analyzed.

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